Best Films of 2013

It's the time of year when the critics have to sum up a year of film watching by producing their lists of Best Films.  Peter Bradshaw has come up with a suitable eclectic list: 

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/dec/06/peter-bradshaws-favourite-films-2013-braddies?CMP=ema_1046

I'm pleased to see that we have already screened some of his selections (Lincoln and A Late Quartet) and plan to screen others later on in the season (Blue Jasmine, Captain Phillips and Before Midnight).

I've decided to present an award for the best demolition job by a critic, and the following review of A Christmas Candle by Peter Bradshaw is a sure fire winner:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/12/christmas-candle-review

Cinema Paridiso: Silver Anniversary

This is a fascinating article about the various versions of Cinema Paradiso:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/dec/09/cinema-paradiso-25th-anniversary

For many years it was just one of those films on my ever-growing "must see" list - until two years ago when we screened it at out film society.  Many of our regulars had seen it several times and a number of strangers travelled from far and wide to see it. When it was over I could understand why they were so keen to see it, and it's now on my "must see again" list.

I particularly liked the following quote from Stephen Woolley who originally distributed the film in the UK:

"Cinema Paradiso is a movie about memory, and for our generation cinema was a place to congregate, a magical place to let your imagination run free. The character of the cinemas of my childhood and youth were all different and special. Now it's all boxes, little long rooms, every cinema is the same, they smell the same, they have the same character, the sameness is the central quality. It's like air travel, it used to be an occasion, now it's a fast-food experience."
 

As a taster, here's the trailer:

Christmas Books: a Letter to Santa

This was on my Christmas list for last year:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/12/big-screen-movies-david-thomson-review

Clearly I had been good, as my copy duly arrived and it was jut as good as John Banville's review had suggested.

This year I've dropped some none-too-subtle hints for David Thomson's most recent book, this time reviewed by the brilliant Philip French:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/18/moments-movies-david-thomson-review

I will keep all my fingers crossed for the next few weeks...